Album Review - The Brooklyn Cowboys: Doin' Time On Planet Earth
by Jennifer Webb
The Brooklyn Cowboys have a different sound, one that is hard to explain. They are definately rock/country sounding but with more of an "older" (maybe 70's) style also. However classified, these guys know their stuff and sound great on all of the songs.
When I saw that Joy Lynn White was going to be a part of this album, I looked forward to hearing her. It did not take me long, though, to realize that she would only be harmonizing and nothing else. That was my only disappointment.
"You And I And The July Moon" is an upbeat song about a couple wanting to get out of their town so that they can be alone under the beautiful starry sky and pretend they are shipwrecked on a deserted island.
"Jukebox Girl" is about a girl that loves to get out on the floor and dance her way into men's hearts. In fact, she dances so much she gets holes in her shoes and men wonder if she will ever stop. "Miss Queen of Hearts is a juke box girl, you know the type. Rockin' & rollin' honky tonkin' most every night."
"Boundless Love" has a neat "Cajun" feel to it. Even though the couple broke up, the guy still thinks about her night and day. He visits all of their special places and feels like her shadow is there because nomatter what he will know that she was the best thing he ever had. "As often as the sun comes up, as long as there are stars above, that's about the size and time frame to my boundless love."
"Californ'" slows down from the uptempo's above and lands at midtempo status. The singer moved from New York (where he was born and raised) to California where the beaches stole his heart and made his dreams come true.
"Reachin' for the Sky" is a song that would fit perfectly being played in a honky tonk club. The beginning guitar licks let you know that this is going to be a tune to have fun listening to. My favorite part of this song is when he sings "About the only thing that could help me now, is Hank Sr. on the stereo. So please do me right and put some on. I need to hear that lonesome whistle blow." Instead of calling the song "Reachin' for the Sky," they should have made it a title cut because in the song they say "I'm doin' time on planet earth" more times and with more emphasis.
In "Hearts on Fire," Walter Egan and Joy Lynn White's voices blend nicely to form an emotional duet. The man was left to wonder what he had done after the woman left. He thinks back to the memories he has of them being together and in love. His heart warms and he pleads for the Lord to make it cold because he does not want to keep loving her for the rest of his life. Friends want the man to forget the lies, but that is too hard to do. This song has also been recorded by Gram Parsons and Emmylou Harris.
"Learn How To Love Me" is all the man wants his lady to do because if she does not, there will always be other women that would want to give it a try. The twist at the end is that he tells her that once she has done as he has instructed, he will "get his education" and learn to love her too.
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